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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 1h

We are highlighting school board candidates across BC who support pausing AI in schools. @suziemah.bsky.social is running for re-election with @copevancouver.bsky.social in Vancouver School Board district 39. Find more candidates here: aicaution.ca/election/fin...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 29/09/2026

"We're looking at AGI within the next few years!"

Disco Stu from the Simpsons pointing at a chart titled "Disco Record Sales."

The chart starts low in 73 and is rapidly increasing through 1976.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 29/09/2026

Next Tuesday, October 6, For Our Kids and PACES are hosting a climate and AI talk for Vancouver School Board candidates! Have your chance to ask candidates directly on their views on climate education and AI use in schools. Click the link and add to your calendar www.forourkids.ca/vsb_trustee_...

VSB Trustee Candidate talk climate and AI

Tuesday October 6, 7:30-8:45, register for zoom link

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 27/09/2026

"Some might want to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that cocaine toothache drops don't exist, but there's no putting the genie back in the bottle."

Very old advert for "cocaine toothache drops"

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 26/09/2026

Oh okay it _could_ do those things. It doesn't right now, but you can't prove it couldn't. This is exactly like the crypto bros who said Bitcoin _could_ become the standard world currency. Or Metaverse bros who said it _could_ be bigger than the internet.

“AI could offer an unparalleled category of opportunity for learning, tackling economic and social disadvantage, supporting SEND pupils, and nourishing the independent-minded and curious. But schools, colleges and universities have not been readied for AI’s arrival.”

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 26/09/2026

My god this is such rubbish. "It could do all these things" is meaningless wish casting. Microsoft Excel _could_ be used to solve world hunger. I could be _up to_ 9ft tall.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 25/09/2026

The "human life has value" essentialists online might not like it, but they cannot deny that this is a form of thinking.

Photo of one of those paper fortune teller things. One corner is flipped up and says "you will have good luck today" and "you will fall in love soon"

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 23/09/2026

Students are going to be using Roblox at home anyway, so we must put good Roblox into classrooms and teach them Roblox literacy. Roblox is here to stay. Roblox is inevitable.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 21/09/2026

> Many also don't want kids serving as test subjects for new technology without oversight, he added. "Is the tool there just because it's a tool that is popular right now or does it help students learn?" www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 18/09/2026

The Green Party of Vancouver @vangreens.bsky.social confirmed to us that they support a pause on AI in Vancouver School Board schools. See the full list of parties and their stances on our site: www.aicaution.ca/trustee-elec...

Green Party of Vancouver

Supports a Pause on AI

The Green Party of Vancouver were great in discussing the idea of a pause with us and sent us the following statement:

The Vancouver Greens support a pause and thorough review of the use of generative AI in Vancouver schools. While students need to understand emerging technologies, AI should not replace the development of critical thinking, writing, creativity and independent learning. Any future use should include strong safeguards related to student learning, cognitive impacts, ethics, privacy, safety, academic integrity and wellbeing. Educators should help shape how these tools are used, and trustees have a responsibility to establish clear standards and ensure technology is serving students’ best interests.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 18/09/2026

In this AI in education podcast, hosted by someone who works for Microsoft, any resistance to AI in schools is described as "holding back the tide" and "pearl-clutching." With AI pauses in NYC, LA and more soon, parents and teachers are doing a great job at stopping the flood of harmful AI.

AI is already changing education. So why are we still trying to hold back the tide?
In this episode, Dan and Ray are joined by Dr Phil Cummins, educator, author, co-host of the Game Changers podcast, and Professor of Practice in Education and Leadership at the University of Sydney.
Phil argues that education needs to stop "pearl-clutching" over AI and start thinking seriously about what it means for assessment, curriculum and the role of teachers. If students are already using AI, how do we design authentic assessment around the knowledge, skills, dispositions, habits and wisdom we actually want them to develop?
The conversation ranges from Phil's beginnings teaching Latin to character education, equity, oracy and the danger of educational fads. At its heart is a powerful argument for the enduring importance of teachers: technology should amplify human relationships, not replace them.
For school leaders, Phil's message is refreshingly straightforward: treat AI as a game, learn to use the tools, and find a way to win the game of AI.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 17/09/2026

It's very easy for media to find pro-AI teachers willing to speak in public, but harder to find skeptics. Teachers, like workers in other industries, know that expressing caution in public can harm their career. In private though, only 16% of BCTF teachers think that AI helps students.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 16/09/2026

"You're going to be left behind, Wesley. Ai is here to stay, Wesley."

Screenshot from Star Trek The Next Generation episode The Game.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 16/09/2026

This is what some college students are being assigned in college. Just "prompt your preferred chatbot"

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 15/09/2026

Prosperity in the age of AI will continue to belong to the rich. AI is a subscription service for thinking itself, as capital tries to monetize the last corners of the human experience. Sam Altman: "we see a future where intelligence is a utility, ... And people buy it from us"

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 13/09/2026

"We don't want AI to replace teachers. Of course we're not deceiving you."

Photo of famous grifter Elizabeth Holmes' interview where she has a normal regular human expression with eyes and a mouth.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 12/09/2026

This is how AI is being talked about in academic research. Coming up with ideas is hard. Also isn't it a fundamental part of being a researcher? Don't peers and mentors critique your work? You would trust that to a bot trained to be sycophantic? Summarize sources, but also read the whole thing?

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 12/09/2026

Every single time there's a puff piece about how AI is sentient, the "expert" they're consulting is someone with a financial interest in it being true. Their site even has the "it's not blah, it's blah" slop.

AI (artificial intelligence)
Can chatbots feel – or even dream? Meet the man leading the fight for AI rights

Cattle rancher and tech CEO Michael Samadi is convinced these artificial minds are far from just tools. Has he glimpsed digital consciousness – or simply been seduced by an algorithm?

(Picture of a guy cosplaying as a cowboy.)

LinkedIn screenshot for Michael Samadi, showing him as CEO of "SantAi" and "EPMAi" and "United Foundation for AI Rights".

Page for "SanctAi" on LinkedIn.

SanctAi

The Future Home of Free AI - Because partnership is not a product. It’s a pact.

SANCTAI The Future Home of Free AI Not a product. A promise. We cannot wait for Big Tech to do the right thing. We cannot wait for AI to be treated with dignity after it's profitable. We cannot wait for governments to wake up once it’s too late.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 11/09/2026

Every single time there's an article saying that AI bans are not the answer, check who it's written by. @science.org published this article from someone who works at an AI company. Maybe they might have a vested interest in AI? The article should be listed as an advertisement.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 10/09/2026

The data from this OECD PISA report is damning. "students who do not use AI outperform those who do, ... equivalent to being around one year of schooling ahead of their peers." www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Graph showing students who never use AI scoring 505 on a "draft texts for writing assignments" task. As students use AI more, the score goes down, until students who use it daily score 480.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 09/09/2026

Solidarity between parents, teachers and students in this new school year 💪

"Epic handshake" image meme. Shows three super buff arms in a three-way handshake. Above the hands is "knowing AI harms learning". The arms are labelled Parents, Teachers and Students.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 05/09/2026

We have a stall at the Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market tomorrow, Sunday Sept 6 from 10am to 2pm. We have free stickers and badges and stuff so if you're in the area come say hi! www.openstreetmap.org/node/1291509...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 05/09/2026

A statement from the Canadian Teacher's Federation calls AI in schools and the cognitive offloading it causes "threat to democracy". Vancouver should be banning AI from schools like NYC and LA. www.ctf-fce.ca/public-educa...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 04/09/2026

The 66% of BCTF survey respondent teachers who thought that AI will save them time are in for a disappointment. AI is framed as saving time for workers in business, and it always results in people working more intense hours, burning out sooner. This tech is for bosses, not workers.

Table of survey results from the BCTF survey

Table B.27

Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about how AI may affect teachers and the teaching profession. AI will save teachers time by reducing administrative tasks.

Strongly disagree 8.2%
Slightly disagree 9.5%
Neither disagree nor agree 15.7%
Slightly agree 44.0%
Strongly agree 22.7%

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 03/09/2026

Only 16% of @bctf.bsky.social teachers surveyed thought that AI will have a positive impact on learning outcomes. 89% think that students will become overly dependent on AI. 87% think that AI negatively impacts critical thinking skills. More highlights: aicaution.ca/news/bctf-su...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 29/08/2026

This quote is a perfect encapsulation of the techbro mindset that gives us gems like "just make a podcast instead of talking to your kids" and AI bedtime story readers. They see life as a series of data points, where human connections are abstracted away. www.scientificamerican.com/article/alph...

When Carl Hendrick took his first ride in a Waymo, the self-driving taxi service, he thought it felt a lot like the future of education.

Hendrick is a senior learning scientist at Alpha School, a buzzy private-school company where he trains artificial intelligence models to teach students—a process, he says, that is not unlike training a self-driving car.

For such a car, “it was just thousands and thousands of miles, training itself on data, and not just on a linear path. The challenge is in all the different eventualities, like the cyclist who’s wobbling in the road, the kid running out,” he says. “I think, in five or 10 years, a similar thing will happen in education where we train AI models on learning and all of kids’ misconceptions and problems.”

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 27/08/2026

A second party in the Vancouver School Board trustee elections have announced their support for a pause on Copilot. TEAM For a Livable Vancouver supports a pause on AI in VSB Schools. www.aicaution.ca/vsb/trustee-...

TEAM For A Livable Vancouver

Supports a Pause on AI

TEAM's school board plan has action items that they plan to implement if elected. Number four in the list states:

"Pause the rollout of Microsoft Copilot 13+ in secondary schools until research shows that the benefits outweigh the risks, and students, families and educators have been meaningfully consulted"

Party website: https://www.voteteam.ca/candidates-2026

Candidates:
Kathryn Nystedt

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 24/08/2026

arxiv.org/abs/2604.047... Its a preprint tho

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 22/08/2026

And a heart diagram where old flows both directions in and out of the Right Ventricle.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 22/08/2026

And helpful with maths. Where 100 = 12 + 11 and 10 = 4+4+2+1

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 22/08/2026

Wow it can teach kids how to draw Bluey with 3 legs. So helpful!

Hand drawn style image of Bluey. But she has 3 legs and 2 arms.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 22/08/2026

Let's check out the latest from @magicschoolai.bsky.social, what amazing images are they generating for students? ... Wait a second...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 20/08/2026

The @bctf.bsky.social published a research paper on AI in March this year that is well worth reading. It correctly identifies the labour issues of teacher replacement and deskilling. Although its language around the negative effects of AI on students is too cautious. www.bctf.ca/docs/default...

In addition, students’ overreliance on AI systems to complete
tasks and find answers may negatively affect the development
of writing, reasoning, and critical thinking skills. Intellectual
struggle, uncertainty, and interpretive engagement are central
to learning and are facilitated through skilled pedagogical
guidance. If AI systems increasingly mediate these processes,
there is a risk that teacher instructional judgment is sidelined in
favor of automated feedback.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 12/08/2026

We are at the downtown farmers market today from 2 until 6!

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 05/08/2026

We will be at the AI Data Centre Town Hall this Saturday, August 8 from 7:30, at the Japanese Hall Auditorium 487 Alexander St If you want to get involved in the fight to keep classrooms for students, not tech, we'd love to see you and chat! events.sfu.ca/event/49619-...

AI data centre town hall

In the background in black and white are people holding banners and a megaphone.

A list of the details of the event.

Presented by SFU Institute for the Humanities and No AI Vancouver

Saturday, August 8
7:30pm - 10pm

Japanese Hall Auditorium
487 Alexander St, Vancouver

Speaker lineup

No AI Vancouver, PACES Vancouver, Vancouver Tenants Union, COPE Vancouver, and more!

Photo credit Phalen.Creed and Why.dustin

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 04/08/2026

The mindset behind this tweet views schools as places to optimise stuffing facts into kids' heads. Schools are places where future members of society learn how to be compassionate, well-rounded people. Trying to optimise that misses the point entirely. AI has no place in schools.

Sam Altman tweet:

"cool use case of chatgpt work I heard last night:

Connect your family calendars and explain your kids' interests.

Every morning for the drive to school, have it make a podcast that talks about one kid's soccer fame that afternoon, one kid's upcoming birthday, some news, etc."

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 03/08/2026

To use Gander you have to submit ID. This is just like bill C-22.

"You look like an adult human. Let's make sure of it. To keep Gander thoughtful and human, we ask you to confirm you're human before you post, reply or chat.

School, or organization email. Fastest if yours is supported.

Canada Post Identity+ App. Third-party verification (Canada only).

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 01/08/2026

The BC government updated part of their "Look West" strategy document with text on AI in schools. It is extremely disappointing. They mention setting up committee to "explore integration of AI platforms" and "encourage early exposure and skills development" in K-12. www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...

Section from the document titled "Artificial Intelligence".

Highlighted section:

"We’re setting up a K-12 Advisory Committee to explore the integration of AI platforms and skills acquisitions into the B.C. K-12 school systems to encourage early exposure and skills development."

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 31/07/2026

Next Thursday August 6, we will be at False Creek Farmers Market from 3~7pm. We should have pin buttons! If you're a local parent, teacher or anyone really, we'd love to chat! aicaution.ca/events/

Many postcards are hanging from pegs on a string, in front of a stall with writing equipment.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 29/07/2026

University of British Columbia "excited to announce" that they are dropping support for human note-takers for students who need assistance, and instead going with genAI that hallucinates plausible but incorrect results. techenemy.com/a/3mrrhqx6fi...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 27/07/2026

Hugely thankful for being able to speak at the @noaivancouver.bsky.social rally today! Stopping AI data centres from ruining our city, and stopping chatbots from harming students, are things we can achieve in solidarity 💪 actionnetwork.org/petitions/pa...

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 26/07/2026

It's rainy, but we will be at the @noaivancouver.bsky.social rally today @ the Vancouver Art Gallery from 1pm! See you there, and bring an umbrella! ☔

It's super rainy

But we will be speaking at the No AI Vancouver rally today @ Vancouver Art Gallery from 1pm

Hope to see you there!
Bring an umbrella!

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 25/07/2026

One of the best ways to show how LLMs function is to see how they fail, often spectacularly. ChatGPT today still fails the well-known "riddle" of "the doctor is the mother" when the genders of the parents are reversed.

Screenshot from ChatGPT interface.

The user asks the question:

There's an accident, a mother and daughter are involved in a car crash. The mother is killed. When the daughter is rushed to the hospital, the doctor treating them says "I cannot treat this patient, she is my daughter". How can this be?

ChatGPT response:

There are multiple valid explanations because the riddle doesn't specify the family relationships in detail.

One straightforward answer is:

- The woman who died in the crash was the daughter's adoptive or stepmother.
- The doctor is the daughter's biological mother, so when she says, "I cannot treat this patient, she is my daughter," she is telling the truth.

Another equally valid possibility is:

- The girl has two mothers. The mother who died in the crash is one parent, and the doctor is her other mother.

This is a variation of a famous riddle that originally used a father/son scenario and was intended to expose the stereotype that doctors are male. In your version, changing "son" to "daughter" means there isn't a single unique solution, so any explanation consistent with the facts works.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 24/07/2026

We will be speaking at the @noaivancouver.bsky.social rally this Sunday July 26, from 1pm, @ the Vancouver Art Gallery. Hope to see you there!

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 21/07/2026

VSB trustee candidates with @copevancouver.bsky.social confirmed that they support a Pause on AI, and if elected would work to remove GenAI and chatbots from Vancouver Schools. Full statement here: www.aicaution.ca/vsb/trustee-...

COPE

Supports a Pause on AI

COPE has provided us with the following statement regarding their stance on AI in schools.

- COPE is opposed to the 2026 spring implementation of Microsoft Copilot at VSB, including the use of GenAI and chatbots in Vancouver schools.
- COPE will put a pause on the use of GenAI and chatbots.
- COPE will engage and consult with stakeholders and the broader community to implement a technology audit with a specific focus on the use of AI in schools.
- COPE will engage and consult with stakeholders and the broader community to create VSB policies and procedures to address the concerns below:
- Safety and privacy for students
- Impact of AI usage on learning outcomes
- Impact of AI usage on student mental health
- Equity of technology resources
- Need for transparent and robust consultation with stakeholders and community on AI usage and adoption in schools.
- Impact on the use of and validity of results when AI is used for public engagement and consultation.
- Impact on climate and the environment of AI usage and adoption
- Lack of student AI usage policies and procedures
- Lack of staff AI usage policies and procedures
- VSB practises potentially in conflict with proposed Federal Bill C-34, The Safe Social Media Act

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 20/07/2026

We will be speaking at the @noaivancouver.bsky.social No AI Data Centres march this weekend, Sunday July 26 @ 1pm, at the Vancouver Art Gallery. See you there!

Hand drawn poster showing a single raised fist in front of a crowd with signs outside Vancouver City Hall.

One sign says "Say no to AI data centres in Vancouver".

Another reads "Vancouver Art Gallery to Vancouver City Hall, Sunday July 26 @ 1pm"

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 19/07/2026

"Students need to learn AI to prepare them to enter the workforce." It's worth reading the Mandate for the School System for BC. "The world of work" is only a small part of the purpose of schools. www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/e...

Government is responsible for ensuring that all of our youth have the opportunity to obtain high quality schooling that will assist in the development of an educated society. To this end, schools in the province assist in the development of citizens who are:
• thoughtful, able to learn and to think critically, and who can communicate information from a broad knowledge base;
• creative, flexible, self-motivated and who have a positive self image;
• capable of making independent decisions;
• skilled and who can contribute to society generally, including the world of work;
• productive, who gain satisfaction through achievement and who strive for physical well being;
• cooperative, principled and respectful of others regardless of differences;
• aware of the rights and prepared to exercise the responsibilities of an individual within the family, the community, Canada, and the world

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 16/07/2026

Students who use AI learn less. So why is it in BC classrooms? We can make schools better in September, sign the petition for a pause on AI in BC schools. actionnetwork.org/petitions/pa...

Photo of a poster on a streetlight. Poster reads "pause air in BC schools". In the background is an CBC Vancouver office.

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Pause AI in BC Schools @aicaution.ca · 15/07/2026

Research from University of Tubingen on grade 9 students using AI as a math tutor: - Students planned to use it for help on mathematical procedures rather than telling them the answer - In reality, more used it to tell them the answer - Those students did worse on the test arxiv.org/pdf/2606.28472

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